Description
Book SynopsisThe roots and evolution of two concepts usually thought to be Western in origin-musica mundana (the music of the spheres) and musica humana (music's relation to the human soul)-are explored. Beginning with a study of the early creeds of the Near East, Professor Meyer-Baer then traces their development in the works of Plato and the Gnostics, and in
Table of Contents*Frontmatter, pg. i*Preface, pg. vii*Photographic Sources, pg. xi*Contents, pg. xiii*List of Illustrations, pg. xvii*Introduction to Part One, pg. 2*I. Theories of the Cosmos in Antiquity, pg. 7*II. The Hellenistic Period, pg. 20*III. The Early Christian Centuries, pg. 29*IV. The Early Works of Art, pg. 42*V. Tonal Theories of Music of the Spheres, pg. 70*VI. The Emergence of Celestial Musicians in Christian Iconography, pg. 87*VII. Late Medieval Writings and Dante's Paradise, pg. 116*DANCING ANGELS AND THE DANCE OF THE BLESSED, pg. 130*SINGING ANGELS, pg. 138*ANGEL ORCHESTRAS, pg. 143*ANGELS OF THE PSALTER, pg. 173*ANGELS' INSTRUMENTS - REAL OR IMAGINARY?, pg. 183*IX. Renaissance and Humanism, pg. 188*X. Two Offshoots of the Idea of the Music of the Spheres, pg. 203*Introduction to Part Two, pg. 218*XI. Music as a Symbol of Death in Antiquity, pg. 224*XII. Later Greek Concepts and the Hellenistic Period, pg. 242*XIII. The Christian Era the Development of Early Medieval Images, pg. 270*XIV. Later Medieval Images: The Dance of Death, pg. 291*XV. The Fifteenth-Century Mystics, pg. 313*XVI. Survivals of Earlier Images, pg. 320*Conclusion: Survivals in Contemporary Musical Concepts, pg. 337*Appendix I. EXCERPTS FROM FIRST CHAPTER OF LETTER ON HARMONY ADDRESSED TO ARCHBISHOP RATHBOD OF TREVES BY REGINO OF PRUM, pg. 349*Appendix II. EXCERPTS FROM THE HYMN "NATURALIS CONCORDIA VOCUM CUM PLANETIS" ("NATURAL HARMONY OF THE TONK AND THE PLANETS"), pg. 351*Appendix III. THE MUSIC IN DANTE'S COSMOS, pg. 352*Appendix IV. A NOTE ON THE SINGERS OF THE GHENT ALTAR, pg. 357*Appendix V. REAL OR IMAGINARY INSTRUMENTS: AN EXAMINATION OF THE BEATUS MANUSCRIPTS AND THE UTRECHT PSALTER, pg. 360*Index, pg. 365
